I have always been in tune with my body, and have a great appreciation and strong value in physical and mental health. This is my one life and I want to remain healthy and strong for myself and for my family. I wouldn’t do self breast exams routinely, but every now and then. I was always curious about what a “lump” would feel like. With dense breast tissue it didn’t feel like it would be obvious to me. And then one day in April 2025 I think I felt something high in my chest almost by accident. I wasn’t performing a self-exam, I just happened to graze it. I like to think the universe led me there. At first I thought maybe it was related to ovulation. But I couldn’t keep it off my mind, so I called my obgyn. Two weeks later, I had an appointment for her to confirm the lump I had found in my left breast. She ordered me a mammogram and a diagnostic ultrasound, told me to walk down the hall and try for a walk-in or make an appointment. I waited three more days for that appointment. Because I have no family history of breast cancer and had not yet turned 40, this was my very first mammogram. All went smoothly, and then I had the diagnostic ultrasound, and I had a sinking feeling. I just felt this energy in the room…that this was something. And they urgently scheduled me a biopsy for the very next morning. Still I held onto hope that it could be nothing. The mammogram results scored it at a BI-RADS category 5….highly suggestive of malignancy. The biopsy took place on a Friday morning, so I waited and waited, all weekend trying to stay busy to keep my mind quiet. I remained hopeful still, but in hindsight I think I had a knowing feeling. On Monday, May 19th 2025 at 12 PM, I received an email that my test results had been posted. At this point I had not met with a surgeon, and had an appointment scheduled with one the next day. So I didn’t have anyone to speak to about the results. I chose to read them anyway. I had to know. And sure enough, there it was…invasive ductal carcinoma. I was with my husband and my sister-in-law at the time. And the only words I could speak were, “it is”, with pain written all over my face. Tears soon followed and I just embraced them both. 

After three weeks of appointments for mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs, more ultrasounds, consultations with surgeons, research, and sharing news with my loved ones, including my two young children, a plan started to come together. I found a wonderful team, a surgical oncologist and plastic surgeon who performed surgery together on June 23rd. Of course this brings up more emotions of anxiety, as I’d never undergone surgery before. But I’ve worked hard at letting my emotions come like waves in the ocean, fluid, and ever changing. They come, and they go.

June 23rd, I woke up anxious, but also ready. I underwent a partial mastectomy on my left side, along with a mastopexy (breast lift). Following a four hour surgery I spent the next several weeks recovering while I waited for more results. The surgery was successful with all margins clear and no cancer in the lymph nodes. Then more weeks of waiting for a treatment plan. On August 6th I received news that I would not need chemotherapy. The last piece of the plan was in place. As I take the next step, I’ll go through four weeks of daily radiation, then begin a five-year course of hormonal therapy. 

I feel lighter. The waiting game is such a hard process, with so many unknowns. I managed so many challenging emotions of my own, and so did my husband, and my children. We all have a role in this journey, and I believe it is so important for people to go through their own process of feeling emotion. This journey isn’t a straight line, and I just know we will all emerge on the other side with even deeper love, joy, strength, and resilience. Ultimately I feel deeply, overwhelmingly grateful. Grateful for my husband, my children, and the tribe of people around me, holding me up. Grateful that I have finally reached a place where I have less unknowns and can face this fight head on. Grateful that I had found this on my own, and did something about it. The biggest lessons I learned thus far, is that I am so loved and there is no greater importance than listening to your body, physically, mentally, spiritually. We all have intuition, and it’s up to us to let it be loud. We have one life to live. Let it be beautiful.

xo, Danielle